Scar Tissue
by Lexielovely
Summary: The two times Cato was able to save Clove, and the one time he couldn't. Cato's recollection of that fateful day in the arena that changed his life in the worst way possible. Clato songfic to "Kiss it All Better," by He is We.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters in this, all rights belong to the lovely Suzanne Collins. Also, I do not own this awesome song, "Kiss it All Better," by He is We.**

 **THE HUNGER GAMES**

 _He sits in his cell,_

 _And he lays on his bed_

 _Covers his head and closes his eyes_

Cato had been running. Running so hard, and so fast, just to escape the previous events of the day. Finally choosing a spot to stop and rest by the lake, he set all of things down and sank to his knees on the ground. After staying like that in that position for a few minutes, he decided to lie down. But he then made the mistake of closing his eyes, and recalling everything that had happened earlier that day.

 **THE PAST**

 _He sees a smoking gun_

 _And the coward he ran_

 _And in his arms is the bleeding,_

 _Love of his life_

 _And she cries,_

 _Kiss it all better,_

 _I'm not ready to go_

 _It's not your fault love_

 _You didn't know, you didn't know_

His mind first flashbacks to the first time they had met at the Academy in District 2. Clove was five, and he was eight, but you'd never have guessed that due to the viciousness with how they'd fought. Clove was outside, on her way walking to the horrible place she'd called home, dreading the horrible beating that was waiting for her, courtesy to her lovely father. With those thoughts preoccupying her, Clove wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. All of a sudden, three boys jumped out, all two years older than her, and started beating her to a pulp. Normally, she would have been able to defend herself, but with those odds, it was hopeless, even though she was the top of her class. If only she'd had her knives on her…

Just as she was about to give up, she was able to discern a loud voice from her cloudy thoughts. "Hey! How about you pick on someone your own size, huh? Or are you only confident when you're wailing on someone who's half your size?"

With that, all three boys were hauled off of the young girl, and the sound of painful groans filled the air. She looked up and she saw the blonde-haired, eight year old boy demolishing the three boys. In fright, they ran off holding their stomachs, and everywhere else that hurt.

As she attempted to get up, the older boy rushed to her side. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold up, don't try to get up so fast. Are you okay? Those boys certainly injured you."

"I'm fine," Clove snapped, upset at being caught in a moment of weakness. "I could've handled that, I didn't need for you to step in."

"Yeah that totally looked like it, with how those boys were beating you down."

"You know what, whatever," Clove grumbled, picking herself up from the ground and attempting to walk off.

"It's okay to accept help every once in a while, you know. There's no shame in that," Cato said.

"Says you, but what about everyone else in the District. Shame would definitely haunt me if word got out."

"Then it won't. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about it," he said, winking at her. "By the way, my name's Cato."

"Clove," she said, with a slight smile, temporarily forgetting what was awaiting her at home.

 **THE HUNGER GAMES**

 _Her hands are so cold_

 _And he kisses her face_

 _And says "Everything will be all right"_

 _He noticed the gun,_

 _And his rage grew inside_

 _He said "I'll avenge my lover tonight"_

Minutes later after Clove's canon had sounded, he looked up and dried his eyes, finally remembering where he was. He lifted his gaze and suddenly, he noticed the bloody rock lying next to Clove's bashed head. The rage grew inside him until he couldn't contain it any more. Whispering to himself, Cato said, "I'll avenge my lover tonight." With a loud yell that echoed around the entire arena, he screamed, "THRESH!"

 **THE PAST**

 _And she cried_

 _Kiss it all better,_

 _I'm not ready to go_

 _It's not your fault love_

 _You didn't know, you didn't know_

The second time Cato saved Clove was when she was 13, Cato being 16. At that point, they had been friends ever since that fateful day that had changed both of their lives. They knew all of each other's secrets, including the one about Clove's abusive father. Actually, practically everyone knew, but being an important Peacekeeper of District 2 had its perks. They were the best of friends, but they were more as well. They loved each other, despite the very obvious age difference between them. Not only that, but they were different in just about every single way. He was light, with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and tall stature, and she was darkness, all brown hair, green eyes, and firecracker-like ferocity, all wrapped up in her short height. The one thing they did have in common, though, was their viciousness. They were the most brutal, most bloodthirsty Careers in all of District 2, the best out of them all. The one time they weren't like that, was with each other.

At the Academy, they were in the same age group, simply because Clove was so good. She was short for the average girl at the Academy, probably the shortest, but few were underestimated by her stature. That didn't mean it never happened though.

"Okay, Trent, you need a challenge," a trainer said to a boy Cato's age at the Academy. "Let's see… Clove, come on up!"

"Are you kidding? You want me to fight shorty over there? Ha, I'd crush her like a bug."

At that, Clove was immediately enraged. "Let's see who's crushed like a bug by the end of this wrestling match Trent. Let's go." The match ended as quickly as it had began, ending with Trent groaning on the floor in pain, and clove sitting on his chest victoriously. "Never underestimate your opponent," she said, hissing at him as she got up. And from the corner of the room, she saw her lover smirking at her, bolstering her confidence even more.

As she walked away, she failed to notice Trent rising from behind her, a vicious look on her face. Suddenly, she was struck down as he snapped her ankle, the noise echoing across the training room.

Unable to move, Trent felt pretty victorious at knocking down his most fierce opponent. But in that moment, he failed to realize that Clove wasn't who he had to worry about.

From the corner, Cato stalked over, lifting up Trent by the shirt and slamming him against the wall, effectively choking him. The trainers watched from the sidelines, casually observing the scene because they knew that any interference from them would result in their death. Menacingly, Cato growled to him, "You don't touch her, got it? What, you're so weak that once her back was turned you had to go redeem yourself. You're a failure of a trainee. District 2 is ashamed of you." With that, he dropped him to the ground, and promptly started wailing down on Trent, breaking all of his limbs and knocking him out.

Victoriously and full of rage, Cato promptly knelt down, scooped Clove up as if she weighed nothing more than a doll, and glared at everyone as he left, taking Clove to the nurse's office.

 **THE HUNGER GAMES**

 _Now he sits behind prison bars_

 _Twenty-five to life and she's not in his arms_

 _He couldn't bring her back with a bullet to the heart_

 _Of the back of a man and tore his world apart_

 _He holds onto a memory_

 _All it is, is a memory_

 _Hey, hey_

With rage in his heart and nothing but the roar of blood pounding in his ears, Cato stalked across the arena, red tinting his vision. He thought of nothing, he saw nothing but the thought of avenging Clove, seeing Thresh's blood spill out onto the dirt and water the earth. After what had felt like eons, he finally reached the field in which Thresh had been hiding. Ignoring the various cuts the grass was tearing into his skin, he stalked to a little cave near the end of the field.

He saw Thresh hunching across a small fire, preparing food, and the mere sight of him was enough to send him into a rage. He snuck closer, but suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping ruined his attempt at a surprise attack. But it was better that way, he wanted to see Thresh's face when he killed him. Turning around with a sword in hand, Thresh's eyes grew wide as he say Cato's murderous expression and the bloody sword in his hand.

"I knew it was gonna come down to this eventually," Thresh said, his face growing hard as he realized the fight that awaited them.

Cato leapt forward, ready to run his sword through Thresh's body, but Thresh side-stepped. This process continued for what felt like forever. They fought, dodging and tackling each other for a day and a half. They were both exhausted, but each had something to fight for. For Thresh, it was his life, but for Cato, it was to avenge the life of his lover.

Finally, Cato managed to cut a long gash down Thresh's leg, and that was what sealed his fate. Sensing the opportunity, Cato pounced, and stabbed his stomach, twisting the sword deep into Thresh's gut. "You killed her, you killed her. You. Killed. Her!" Cato yelled mercilessly.

"She deserved it, with how she killed that little girl from my District. I was only trying to avenge her." He didn't tell Cato this, but he secretly felt guilty for taking the life of a girl the mere age of 15. But in his head, she had killed a 12 year old, so she deserved to die.

"You imbecile! Did you ever stop to think that just because the little girl's name escaped Clove's lips, she didn't really kill her? Did you even realize that Clove was innocent, that Marvel, the boy from District 1, killed her?"

As the sudden truth hit him, his face turned white, and it wasn't just because of all the blood he was losing. He did it, he killed an innocent girl, one who was just pulled into these vile games by way of President Snow. Well, he was sure she wasn't innocent, but innocent enough.

Watching him, Cato thought of what Clove would do, and grabbed her most prized knife, a thin butterfly one that would ensure the greatest pain. He then took pleasure in carving up Thresh's face, just so he was on the brink of death. By then, Thresh was practically unrecognizable with all the brutal cuts and the blood pouring down his face.

Overcome with guilt, Thresh whispered, "I'm sorry."

"I loved her, you know? This wasn't the plan, for both of us to go into the arena. She was reaped, and no one would volunteer for her. I was gonna volunteer, then when I inevitably won, I would come home, and I was gonna propose to her. But you ruined it. You'll pay with the pain that she felt in her last moments."

Hearing that, Thresh turned to the side and noticed the huge rock. Cato picked it up, and the last sound that he ever heard was, "For Clove."

The cannon echoed around the arena, but all Cato heard was the realization that the death of his lover's killer would do nothing to bring back the love of his life.

 **THE HUNGER GAMES**

 _He cries_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Kiss it all better_

 _I'm not ready to go_

 _It's not your fault love_

 _You didn't know, you didn't know_

"CATO!" Her screams echoed all throughout the arena, and her cries of pain were one of the worst sounds Cato had ever heard, second only to that horrible canon signaling her death. He ran as fast as he could, but something in his heart told him that he wouldn't reach her in time. Just as he broke through the clearing, he saw Thresh and Katniss running off, and the love of his life lying on the ground, blood pouring from her head. He skidded to a stop, and knelt down on his knees, resting her head on his lap.

As he sat with Clove, watching the life slowly drain from her eyes, he could barely contain the sobs that were emitting from his mouth and shaking her against his chest. But he had to be strong for her, he had to comfort her. She was so scared, this was a feeling she had not felt since she as 13 years old. With sobs wracking his body, he kissed her face and said, "Everything will be alright."

Clove looked at him, with that sad look on her face, almost regret, and said, her voice barely above a whisper, "You have to win for me. Make Fire Girl pay. Make Thresh pay. Make them all pay."

"I will," Cato promised, wiping away a silent tear that had fell from Clove's eye. "I promise I will, if it's the last thing I ever do. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you this time."

"It's okay, don't blame yourself. Two out of three times isn't bad, huh?" The joking manner with which she talked grew to a close, and her eyes turned soft. "I love you."

"And I love you. More than you'll ever know."

"Don't worry, I think I do." And with that, the worst sound that had ever graced Cato's ears sounded, and that canon was louder and more painful than anything he had ever heard. With that, he collapsed, sobs wracking his body. Thresh will pay, Katniss will pay, they would all pay. But in reality, it would do nothing to fill that void in his heart. He would have to deal with the scar tissue left over from the pain of her death. But in that moment, he just sat there, with Clove's lifeless body resting peacefully in his arms.

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _(kiss it all better)_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 _Stay with me until I fall asleep_

 _Stay with me_

 **A/N: And that put's a wrap on this story! This was my first time writing a Hunger Games fanfic, and I thought to myself, "Hmm… which characters should I write about?". Then it became so obvious, Cato and Clove! Hands down, they are the best couple in my opinion (maybe equaling Odesta?). I wrote this as a songfic to the amazing song "Kiss it All Better," seeing as I have seen many edits on Youtube to this song and these characters, which were awesome! But it's kind of ironic, because when I was writing this, I was listening to "Scar Tissue," by Camila Cabello, my favorite artist, and to me, it just kinda fit. Cato had to deal with the scar tissue of the loss of Clove, and it was just so beautiful that I had to make it the title! Anyways, I'm currently bring this to a close at 12:46 AM, January 1, 2019! Let's ring in the New Year with positivity and love everyone!**

 **Let me know what you thought about this, tell me if I should keep on writing about the Hunger Games!**

 **As always, rate and review everyone!**

 **Xoxo, Lexielovely**


End file.
